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. >> we are having the conversation because of the debt and deficit levels that the country is facing . someone on the democratici side saying keep them and extend . republicans saying we have to cut somewhere. that's a real discussion. >> if i tld youhere was a program that cost you 30 billion and returned 18 billion to the economy and so had a net cost of 12 billion and supported 400,000 jobbings, you would say that is a good idea it is it not a matterf reducing the deficit because in congress we have people extending tax cuts that further blow a hole in the debt ceiling. >> i don't wt to be cruel, christian. i don't want to be curt. everydollar comes back a a $1.90 a. forget about the stock market and investing and put our money in unemployment benefits. its it resting on a complete fallacy of economics that conequals wealth. it is the same that pelosi and you. cash for clunkers and house stimulus . shov ready stimulus jobbings. >> johthon why don't you listeto mark sand zandy of moody who advised john mccain's presidential anything. it is nhing to do with a progressive position it
. >> we are having the conversation because of the debt and deficit levels that the country is facing . someone on the democratici side saying keep them and extend . republicans saying we have to cut somewhere. that's a real discussion. >> if i tld youhere was a program that cost you 30 billion and returned 18 billion to the economy and so had a net cost of 12 billion and supported 400,000 jobbings, you would say that is a good idea it is it not a matterf reducing the deficit...
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would be counterproductive if congress cut invest. >>> in education and job training to "reduce the deficit" in a way that would impact future economic growth. we've got to fix the workforce investment, the job training system in the united states to prepare people for the types of jobs that ceo has. >> you've been there, you've had to forge deals between warring constituencies. fiscal cliff. what would the solution be if you were handling it? >> i like the idea of the president, john boehner, the key players, getting together with no staff in the room. the second thing, they've got to be guided by a couple of things. number one, what is best for the nation? not my party, not my philosophy, not necessarily my politics. number two -- >> you'd like it one on one. >> editd' i'd like it one on on discuss specifics in a one on one way. second, they may agree there should be short-term steps and long-term steps, i think we can get there. the nation is counting on them doing something significant. >> saints/giants this weekend? >> i've got to go for the saints. i'm -- >> they both need a win. >> g
would be counterproductive if congress cut invest. >>> in education and job training to "reduce the deficit" in a way that would impact future economic growth. we've got to fix the workforce investment, the job training system in the united states to prepare people for the types of jobs that ceo has. >> you've been there, you've had to forge deals between warring constituencies. fiscal cliff. what would the solution be if you were handling it? >> i like the idea...
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and that social security has nothing to do with the deficit. it is solvent and until 2037. medicare is solvent until 2024. you think where we're at, i know as i listen then the question would the republicans get anything, i don't even want to use the word conceding coming together on behalf of the american people where 62% believe on november 6th when the race was over the vote was really on whether or not should be a fair tax burden on those --. melissa: i'll give that to you. let's go ahead and raise taxes. say we do that. that doesn't get us close to solving the problem. i mean we still have $16.3 trillion in debt. we are still running $4 billion a day beyond what we're making. we this huge problem in this country. if it was a house you would throw uppyour arms in distress say, my god, we can never pay all these bills. that is sort of the point. >> i'm not in distress on that. first of all with the tax rrlief for 98% of the americans, we'll turn a reasoned amount of a trillion upwards back into the treasury. that is the first step. secondarily, a lot of economists will m
and that social security has nothing to do with the deficit. it is solvent and until 2037. medicare is solvent until 2024. you think where we're at, i know as i listen then the question would the republicans get anything, i don't even want to use the word conceding coming together on behalf of the american people where 62% believe on november 6th when the race was over the vote was really on whether or not should be a fair tax burden on those --. melissa: i'll give that to you. let's go ahead...
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his own deficit reduction commission. he knows what our proposals are, he knows what we are throwing do. what we don't know, chris, is what is the president willing to do? >> well, let me ask you specifically about that. is it true, because it's been said but we've never seen a piece of paper; it true that the president offered to raise the eligibility age for medicare and to slow cost of living adjustments for social security what you were in your debt talks in august ofs2011. >> it was on the table. did the president agree to it? it may have been close to an agreement to it. if he agreed to it we might not have some problem today. >> is that on the table now. of course, it's on the table. >> no, is it on the table from their point of view. >> well, there are a lot of items on the table. the president knows what they are. the question is what are they willing to do. >> you are starting it have some political problems because you are starting to have some split necessary your ranks. i don't have to tell you one of the top
his own deficit reduction commission. he knows what our proposals are, he knows what we are throwing do. what we don't know, chris, is what is the president willing to do? >> well, let me ask you specifically about that. is it true, because it's been said but we've never seen a piece of paper; it true that the president offered to raise the eligibility age for medicare and to slow cost of living adjustments for social security what you were in your debt talks in august ofs2011. >>...
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we already have a $292 billion deficit. but in those two months, revenues have increased by 10%. $30 billion. you only get $31 billion in the first year when you raise those two rates. but you know what the problem is? we increased spending by 16%, $87 billion. this is more about a spending problem, not a taxing problem. and that's the problem with washington. >> first of all, congressman, you threw out a number there, there are a lot of numbers that can confuse people. you talk about $31 billion. the reality is, over 10 years, based on documents i have seen from republicans, raising the top rates would get you over $400 billion in new revenue. so that is a fact that both sides agree on. >> david, in two months of this new pacific northwe new fiscal year, you have $10 billion in revenue but 16% increase in spending. it is a spending problem. and the president wants to increase taxes to continue the spending. he proposed a plan that put a new spend list in that added more than just the top two rates' worth in the first year.
we already have a $292 billion deficit. but in those two months, revenues have increased by 10%. $30 billion. you only get $31 billion in the first year when you raise those two rates. but you know what the problem is? we increased spending by 16%, $87 billion. this is more about a spending problem, not a taxing problem. and that's the problem with washington. >> first of all, congressman, you threw out a number there, there are a lot of numbers that can confuse people. you talk about $31...
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so of course we can't raise enough taxes to completely deal witthe deficit. and you do have to do reforms. you need to reform the tax system. you certainly need to make additional cuts. i do want to remind you though, that we have already voted on one trillion dollars of cuts, cuts that would cause great pain. i agree what you 100%. it can not be done. melissa: spending cutting numbers are even smaller than the tax numbers. they don't get us there either. i'm worried about stalling the economy. in the meantime when we talk about raising taxes and what it would do to small business. democrats like to point out we would only raise taxes on 3% of small business owners. >> right. melissa: but that 3% generates 50% of the inme from small business. so they're hiringhe majori of people. to me that is going to cost us jobs. >> well,ou know what? i think that what will cost us jobs for sure is if we go off thissfiscal cliff, because it is not just about ising tacks. it is also about the debt ceiling. it is about unemployment insurance. we have number of key issues tha
so of course we can't raise enough taxes to completely deal witthe deficit. and you do have to do reforms. you need to reform the tax system. you certainly need to make additional cuts. i do want to remind you though, that we have already voted on one trillion dollars of cuts, cuts that would cause great pain. i agree what you 100%. it can not be done. melissa: spending cutting numbers are even smaller than the tax numbers. they don't get us there either. i'm worried about stalling the economy....
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supply deficit on that market and it sure helps to see the good jobs number. that was another supportive situation. when it comes to the copper market, we are again today. one of the strongest metals in the metal complex, the copper market. that is a good sign for economic growth down road. back to you, cheryl casone and dennis kneale. cheryl: thanks to both of you. breaking news into fox business. want to show you once again live pictures out of cairo, egypt. reuters is reporting protesters have breached a military barricade. that barricade is protecting the presidential palace. the protesters are upset about the president's decree giving him almost unquestioned power over his government but reuters reporting the barrier has been broken. they tried two days ago and were unsuccessful. those protesters have had success. we will keep you posted. fiscal cliff survival kit looking for a save haven, munis, maybe the way to go. we will do you y. dennis: employees of random house in for a lot of green, 50 shades of gray. how the world's currencies are faring against
supply deficit on that market and it sure helps to see the good jobs number. that was another supportive situation. when it comes to the copper market, we are again today. one of the strongest metals in the metal complex, the copper market. that is a good sign for economic growth down road. back to you, cheryl casone and dennis kneale. cheryl: thanks to both of you. breaking news into fox business. want to show you once again live pictures out of cairo, egypt. reuters is reporting protesters...
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president does not represent the bowles simpson plan, nor is it the bowles plan in my testimony on deficit reduction. i simply took the mid point of the public offers, put forward during the negotiations to demonstrate where i thought a deal could be reached at the time. he's very much backing away from speaker boehner's letter. the question i wanted to ask you is some of the details, as you know, it's all in. >> can we spin one more point on that? >> absolutely. >> here's speaker boehner who is taking a mid point on the compromise between the two sides and offered it, and it's already flatley rejected? >> i think he may be rejected, sir, if i may -- >> i'm not talking about simpson -- erskine boelsz. i'm talking about the white house's response to it. >> let's get to that too. i think what erskine bowles is saying in his statement, that this letter from speaker boehner does not represent his theory, number one, but i think the line that the white house is having problems with, and i believe i found it in page two of the speaker's letter, i'll read it to you if i can. he says this, notably
president does not represent the bowles simpson plan, nor is it the bowles plan in my testimony on deficit reduction. i simply took the mid point of the public offers, put forward during the negotiations to demonstrate where i thought a deal could be reached at the time. he's very much backing away from speaker boehner's letter. the question i wanted to ask you is some of the details, as you know, it's all in. >> can we spin one more point on that? >> absolutely. >> here's...
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david, how much of the deficit, if we let the bush tax cuts sunset, how much of the deficit goes away? >> well, a significant percentage. >> like three quarters of it. >> it's not a good thing to do. it's going to push us back. >> when is it a good time? >> we need a down payment of both revenue and spending reductions, but we need to achieve four to five trillion over ten years through a grand bargain and we have to make sure that we're going to achieve a lot more than that beyond the ten years because we have 10,000 people a day retiring. health care costs are still out of control and we have to look long-term. that's why we say debt to gdp. >> somebody just sent in a really good question. that is with the president's health care plans, with obama care, does that change the debt to gdp in terms of taxes going up? >> it makes it worse. >> it's already going up. >> the affordable care act expanded cover an to 36 million people. it did not do enough to control costs. there are positive aspects of it, but according to the chief actuary of medicare, it's estimated to cost $12 trillion mo
david, how much of the deficit, if we let the bush tax cuts sunset, how much of the deficit goes away? >> well, a significant percentage. >> like three quarters of it. >> it's not a good thing to do. it's going to push us back. >> when is it a good time? >> we need a down payment of both revenue and spending reductions, but we need to achieve four to five trillion over ten years through a grand bargain and we have to make sure that we're going to achieve a lot more...
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i worry that we are going to do too much deficit reduction. too much spending cuts. when the private sector, when businesses and consumers are not spending, what we need is for government to be the spender of last resort. we don't want to go into major spending cuts. that's the austerity trap that europe has found itself in and it would be crazy for us to go in that direction. >> before we go, very quickly, yes or no. do we have a deal by the end of the year? >> yes. >> and what about you, doug? >> marginally, yes. 60/40 in favor of a deal but they've got to get moving. >> we'll have to see if it's another real deal or another kick of the can down the road or some other interim thing. thanks for being here. >>> outfront next, the u.s. military draws up new plans for a potential strike against syria as we learn more about that country's stockpile of chemical weapons. >>> plus -- the u.s. supreme court agrees to take on the issue of gay marriage. and is that a signal, is that a signal that for republicans, it may be time to reconsider its view on this? >>> and a nurse
i worry that we are going to do too much deficit reduction. too much spending cuts. when the private sector, when businesses and consumers are not spending, what we need is for government to be the spender of last resort. we don't want to go into major spending cuts. that's the austerity trap that europe has found itself in and it would be crazy for us to go in that direction. >> before we go, very quickly, yes or no. do we have a deal by the end of the year? >> yes. >> and...
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it would hardly make a dent in the yearly deficit and not even a chip of a cent off the debt. he said he would rather go over the fiscal cliff than not to raise tax rates. so obama pushing higher taxes on the top 2%, not for economic reasons but for i'd logical reasons but there is also this obvious fact. obama wants to raise the top rates for political reasons. now that is he wants to force republicans to raise tacks in order to trigger a civil war within the gop and the conservative movement, and in that respect sadly obama is having some success. now so long as this debate is focused not on cutting spending but on raising daxs and revenues with the only question being which taxes, how much revenue, then obama wins. now if obama succeeds in making the argument not about his spending, but about grover norquist, he wins there, too. for republicans, on the other hand, if they can figure out a way to refocus the debate on spending, they win and the country wins. we can't kid ourselves that's correct is not easy to do. obama has the biggest microphone in the land and he also has
it would hardly make a dent in the yearly deficit and not even a chip of a cent off the debt. he said he would rather go over the fiscal cliff than not to raise tax rates. so obama pushing higher taxes on the top 2%, not for economic reasons but for i'd logical reasons but there is also this obvious fact. obama wants to raise the top rates for political reasons. now that is he wants to force republicans to raise tacks in order to trigger a civil war within the gop and the conservative movement,...
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you're not going to -- >> i'm also a deficit hawk, joe. >> you are a deficit hawk. and, howard, i know obama won the election, but in this country you need the house to vote on something to make it law, and if they just say no the 39.6 on the high end, if you just let -- go over the cliff, it's going to 39.6. there would be in discussing it. it's going there. >> let's be fair about this. i mean, what i'm proposing is not -- neither the republicans nor the democrats like. because not only does it go to 39.6 on the wealthy which i support, but it also goes back to what people were paying when bill clinton was president for the middle-class and the truth of the matter is no matter what people said in the election, you cannot solve this deficit problem without everybody paying more taxes not just rich people. >> you can go to 100% and not 39.6. you'd like to in a perfect world, i know you, you would like to go to 100%. but you're not going to be able to do that. >> only on television personality. >> you go from raising, like, $80 billion a year which on a trillion dolla
you're not going to -- >> i'm also a deficit hawk, joe. >> you are a deficit hawk. and, howard, i know obama won the election, but in this country you need the house to vote on something to make it law, and if they just say no the 39.6 on the high end, if you just let -- go over the cliff, it's going to 39.6. there would be in discussing it. it's going there. >> let's be fair about this. i mean, what i'm proposing is not -- neither the republicans nor the democrats like....
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that's half of last year's federal deficit. what's 800 billion in savings over a decade? that's irrelevant. absolutely. whatever time he spent negotiating that was a complete waste of time. >> here's my criticism. they seem to be negotiating against themselves. they give a proposal, obama gives a non-proposal, and they respond with another proposal. here's what i don't understand. seems the answer is simple if they're worried about the pr side or the political side. pass the bill. extend all the bush tax cuts and then the president and the senate or the president decides if they want to raise taxes on the middle class or not. put it on them. put the onus on them. >> they will have voted not to do that. obama has made a bet that the republican party is so inept at the politics of this that they will get stuck with it. he can hang the debt alba tros of the biggest tax increase in american history around their next. >> he wants it all. howard dean is the only guy i see that has said this is the best case scenario. they get defense sequestration, they get to raise taxes on ev
that's half of last year's federal deficit. what's 800 billion in savings over a decade? that's irrelevant. absolutely. whatever time he spent negotiating that was a complete waste of time. >> here's my criticism. they seem to be negotiating against themselves. they give a proposal, obama gives a non-proposal, and they respond with another proposal. here's what i don't understand. seems the answer is simple if they're worried about the pr side or the political side. pass the bill. extend...
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bush inherited a surplus and left with a massive deficit. didn't monitor the financial system and so on. the mostç important point is david's right about, which is there's no such thing as a presidential referendum election. i've covered ten of these and they've all been choices. why? because these two candidates live in everybody's living rooms. people make a judgment about their character -- >> reagan was partially positive, just anti -- >> oh that became a choice election after reagan appeared in that one debate against carter and people said, hey, he isn't so bad. i have a choice. >> one of the other players, besides the two candidates was bill clinton, the former president, don't think anybody made a better case of making the case for obama than bill clinton. at the convention a critical moment when he explained the arithmetic of what obama inherited. >> in tampa the republican ar gument against the president's re-election was pretty simple, pretty snappy. it went something like this. we left him a total mess. he hadn't cleaned it up
bush inherited a surplus and left with a massive deficit. didn't monitor the financial system and so on. the mostç important point is david's right about, which is there's no such thing as a presidential referendum election. i've covered ten of these and they've all been choices. why? because these two candidates live in everybody's living rooms. people make a judgment about their character -- >> reagan was partially positive, just anti -- >> oh that became a choice election after...
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right now with the fourth year in a row, that deficit and debt continues to climb. so it doesn't really wipe it out and the challenge of it is what does that do to the overall economy. we're not just dealing with one tax increase as well. a lot of people lose track of that. the affordable care about actually begin on january 1st as well for people making $200,000 or more. or people having large medical bills. this is talking about an additional tax increase on top of that. >> what about what bill clinton said? he said once things start to get better and that's a crucial point he was making. once the economy starts to get better, taxes have to go up on the middle class. do you agree? is. >> i don't, actually. and the reason being is that right now, if you look at the real math, in 2007 and 012, we have the same amount of revenue. now, 2008 and 2009, we had a dramatic drop in federal revenues, but we've slowly climbed back up. revenue has gone up every year of the obama administration and now, we're at historic highs. the same as we were five years ago. the difference
right now with the fourth year in a row, that deficit and debt continues to climb. so it doesn't really wipe it out and the challenge of it is what does that do to the overall economy. we're not just dealing with one tax increase as well. a lot of people lose track of that. the affordable care about actually begin on january 1st as well for people making $200,000 or more. or people having large medical bills. this is talking about an additional tax increase on top of that. >> what about...
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it's about getting the money we need in order to reduce these deficits. so you've got to have spending cuts and you've got to have some revenue to get this done. >> schieffer: let me ask senator simpson. the "new york times" crunched numbers for the tax inn creases for the wealthy and determined even if the rates go back up to the clinton-era rates it would only give us about a quarter of the needed revenue. so what other things can be done? what other taxes have to be raised or where do you get the money to get us to where we need to be? >> well, you go into the tax code, as i say, but it's going to take too much time to do that. but there is no possibility to do this, not a single economist who talked to us in our hearings, said we can't grow our way out of this thing if we had double-digit growth for 20 years. you can't cut spending your way out of this baby or you're going to are yo ruin a very fragile economy and an emerging and helpful nation and you can't tax your way out of this baby. this is impossible. and when these people zero in-- as erskine
it's about getting the money we need in order to reduce these deficits. so you've got to have spending cuts and you've got to have some revenue to get this done. >> schieffer: let me ask senator simpson. the "new york times" crunched numbers for the tax inn creases for the wealthy and determined even if the rates go back up to the clinton-era rates it would only give us about a quarter of the needed revenue. so what other things can be done? what other taxes have to be raised or...
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i mean, we have a -- we have a big problem in terms of the deficits we're running. but let me just ask you this crucial question about where we're going to go from here, grover. because i know you have this kind of soul-searching moment in front of you. where you can keep going ahead and saying no revenue, right? has to be revenue-neutral. and you might lose. or you can start to bend a little bit. are you going to have to start to bend? >> well, i'm in favor of more revenue. if you talk about the tax reform that speaker boehner has talked about in the letter that he and all the republican leadership sent to obama asking him to get serious about spending restraint, which he hasn't done yet -- >> but can i just clarify -- >> reduce rates and broaden the base. >> it didn't say for sure let's reduce rates. >> yes, it did. >> it opened the door to reducing rates -- john boehner has put on the table before he would be willing to raise revenue without cutting rates. >> no, in the context of tax reform, i think the letter is very clear. in the context of tax reform, which r
i mean, we have a -- we have a big problem in terms of the deficits we're running. but let me just ask you this crucial question about where we're going to go from here, grover. because i know you have this kind of soul-searching moment in front of you. where you can keep going ahead and saying no revenue, right? has to be revenue-neutral. and you might lose. or you can start to bend a little bit. are you going to have to start to bend? >> well, i'm in favor of more revenue. if you talk...
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now let's former cbo director says these cuts fail to control the greatest deficit challenge, federal health care spending. >> the future path of mandatory has been clear for a decade now. it is largely driven by health care costs and baby boom and every cbo director come to the same conclusion. you can't grow your way out of it. you can not tax your way out of it. you must change these programs. >> democrats argue if the government cuts too much spending the economy will slow further. back to you. david: rich edson, thank you very much, rich. lauren: with all the uncertainty surrounding fiscal cliff should you invest differently right now? david: one economist says investors have to look beyond the fiscal crisis. we have senior economist at oppenheimer fund joins us now. more than that, what you say you've got the perfect split. -p60/40, 60 being equities and 40 being dot, dot, dot, something else. how do you devise, some people are gold bugs say it is all gold. cash bugs, say you have to be flexible, keep it in cash. how do you divide the 40% not in equities? >> first of all we took
now let's former cbo director says these cuts fail to control the greatest deficit challenge, federal health care spending. >> the future path of mandatory has been clear for a decade now. it is largely driven by health care costs and baby boom and every cbo director come to the same conclusion. you can't grow your way out of it. you can not tax your way out of it. you must change these programs. >> democrats argue if the government cuts too much spending the economy will slow...
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yes, we have a huge deficit problem. you get in public opinion polls, overwhelming majorities say yes. they look at the polls and respond to it. something similar happened on medicare. we have the notion of there's a medicare crisis. there's an entitlement. this is a health care crisis. >> i really need to say about jonathans piece. i am liberal, but that is the worst example i have heard. take people out of a popular -- i hope this is not the white house position. take people out of a popular program that works and they love, put them into obama care that is not so popular and they don't necessarily love. take away something they like and give them something liberals think they should like. >> the right question is, the portuguese have an average income lower than ours with universal health care. it costs two-thirds of their economy compared to our economy. we are having the wrong discussion. here is the program. start by lowering medicare is an option to 55 or 40. stop reacting to what -- >> we'll have to continue the
yes, we have a huge deficit problem. you get in public opinion polls, overwhelming majorities say yes. they look at the polls and respond to it. something similar happened on medicare. we have the notion of there's a medicare crisis. there's an entitlement. this is a health care crisis. >> i really need to say about jonathans piece. i am liberal, but that is the worst example i have heard. take people out of a popular -- i hope this is not the white house position. take people out of a...
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we shouldn't have deficit reduction right now. we should focus on jobs and employment and continued stimulus for the economy, which i was really happy about the president at least had some of that in his plan. then you ask yourself, okay, what could you do in terms of reducing the deficit that would be the least damaging, and what economists say and what makes common sense is people at the top end of the income scale, who can afford to pay a little more, that's the place where we can raise the rates now and not have a major economic impact. so i take the governor's point, and i agree with it. we probably are going to -- if we're going to continue to make the promises and keep the promises that i think are so important and most progressives do, we probably need to raise taxes on a lot of people. it's a question of timing of when to make those choices. >> the rush limbaugh showed us today how difficult it is for john boehner and eric cantor to make the moves they've already made. let's listen to what rush said. >> what we got today
we shouldn't have deficit reduction right now. we should focus on jobs and employment and continued stimulus for the economy, which i was really happy about the president at least had some of that in his plan. then you ask yourself, okay, what could you do in terms of reducing the deficit that would be the least damaging, and what economists say and what makes common sense is people at the top end of the income scale, who can afford to pay a little more, that's the place where we can raise the...
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it makes the deficit better. it would go a long way toward curing the deficit, but the deficit isn't the immediate problem for most people, the weak economy is. >> i agree. >> and if we dive off the fiscal cliff, the economy could get much weaker. that's -- >> by the way -- >> -- millions of americans. it's a problem for barack obama. >> just to back you up, i really think the great thing is the economy is just starting to lift up a. the unemployment rate is really starting to come down. we're getting good job production. thank you so much, ladies, for coming on tonight. thanks for the sharp thinking we got tonight. >>> up next, if you can't win by the rules, change then. that's what republicans are trying to do in pennsylvania. they don't like the lerer toal college because it didn't work for them. come back for the place for politics. derate alzheimer's, you'll also care about our new offer. you get access to nurses who can help with your questions. and your loved one can get exelon patch free for 30 days. if t
it makes the deficit better. it would go a long way toward curing the deficit, but the deficit isn't the immediate problem for most people, the weak economy is. >> i agree. >> and if we dive off the fiscal cliff, the economy could get much weaker. that's -- >> by the way -- >> -- millions of americans. it's a problem for barack obama. >> just to back you up, i really think the great thing is the economy is just starting to lift up a. the unemployment rate is really...
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based off the simpson bowles commission, his own deficit reduction commission. he knows what our proposals are and what we are willing to do. what we don't know, chris, is what is the president willing to do? >> chris: well, let me ask you specifically about that. is it true, it is said -- we have never seen a piece of paper. is it true that the president offered to raise the eligibility age for medicare and slow cost of living adjustments for social security when you were in your debt talks in august of 2011? >> it was on the table. did the president agree to it... he may have been close to an agreement to it. if he agreed to it, we might not have this problem today. >> chris: is that on the table now. >> of course it is. >> chris: no, from their point of view? >> listen, there are a lot of items on the table. the president knows what they are. the question is, what are they willing to do. >> chris: you are starting to have political problems, because you are starting to have splits in your ranks, i don't have to tell you you one of the top congressional republ
based off the simpson bowles commission, his own deficit reduction commission. he knows what our proposals are and what we are willing to do. what we don't know, chris, is what is the president willing to do? >> chris: well, let me ask you specifically about that. is it true, it is said -- we have never seen a piece of paper. is it true that the president offered to raise the eligibility age for medicare and slow cost of living adjustments for social security when you were in your debt...
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bill clinton increased taxes from 35 to 39%, started with a $300 billion deficit. ended with a trillion dollar surplus. all of you and i think you on television predictedicted thered be a recession. 23 million jobs later, there was no recession. >> lanny, if what you say is true, that the clinton tax cuts did it, why doesn't barack obama say let's have back all of the clinton tax hikes? let's have back all of the clinton tax increases object on everybody and we'll have a boom because he knows in his heart what he knew in 2010. you raise taxes on everybody, and a weak economy like we've got and you will send it into the dumpster. that's what he's threatening to do. >> that's a fair point. that's the reason it's a weak economy. when bill clinton raised taes and ended up with a surplus, conservatives like yourself loved the fact we had a surplus underather than under the last o administrations. we now have a $16 trillion national debt. >> one question, lanny. under bill clinton, they cut defense spending from reagan 6% of gdp to 3%. cut it in half as a percentage of t
bill clinton increased taxes from 35 to 39%, started with a $300 billion deficit. ended with a trillion dollar surplus. all of you and i think you on television predictedicted thered be a recession. 23 million jobs later, there was no recession. >> lanny, if what you say is true, that the clinton tax cuts did it, why doesn't barack obama say let's have back all of the clinton tax hikes? let's have back all of the clinton tax increases object on everybody and we'll have a boom because he...
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i thought the deficit was a big rob and want to a measure that helps reduce the deficit help the economy? >> i just don't know. in the capital gains sense i personally think and i think it's also been proven in the past if you lower rates it increases the revenue to the government. we should be focused on revenue generation. >> let's talk about reality because you're somebody who has money and is looking at situations like this. has it changed your behavior on investments, you could make, you would make down the road? >> that's a great question. i would say me personally probably not. but, you know, i just -- when i look at the rest of the world and i look -- i can't understand it and i can't really know why do you think it is, why is there so much cash on the sidelines and earning such a low rate of return as we just saw pointed out? why aren't they investing it into things? what is holding it? i don't know -- >> what's happening at quicken loans, i know it's a privately held company. what are you doing in terms of jobs, in terms of -- >> we are doing really well. we positioned ourselve
i thought the deficit was a big rob and want to a measure that helps reduce the deficit help the economy? >> i just don't know. in the capital gains sense i personally think and i think it's also been proven in the past if you lower rates it increases the revenue to the government. we should be focused on revenue generation. >> let's talk about reality because you're somebody who has money and is looking at situations like this. has it changed your behavior on investments, you could...
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Dec 9, 2012
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medicare, medicaid and social security aren't the drivers of this deficit. what these guys should do, coburn is right, this is meaningless, they should even given him 98% or they should do what president clinton propose is like it extend it for three months and let the new congress. let the new congress. the outgoing congress that lost is making -- >> they're the ones that voted for it. >> first of all, what we want to do, we want to raise taxes. we want to raise tax rates. when you say when you want to close loopholes that does not count. that's a generic thing. are you going to close charitable, state and local deductions. what is that you're going to do. the generic statement is it doesn't count. we're very clear about what we want to do. we're not enhancing revenues. we're talking about raising taxes. >> when hensarling was talking, he said that the president hasn't proposed cuts. the stuff that's looking forward, there are major medicare spending cuts, mostly falling on providers not on beneficiaries. there are a lot of detail in there. >> for fes so, i
medicare, medicaid and social security aren't the drivers of this deficit. what these guys should do, coburn is right, this is meaningless, they should even given him 98% or they should do what president clinton propose is like it extend it for three months and let the new congress. let the new congress. the outgoing congress that lost is making -- >> they're the ones that voted for it. >> first of all, what we want to do, we want to raise taxes. we want to raise tax rates. when you...
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adjusted global goods trade deficit 9.5 billion. september unrevised. forecast here forecast at 8.65, so that is a wide deficit than forecast. adjusted 4.5 billion. sterling not reacting huge amount. european stocks today are firmer. up 0.4% for the ftse. xetra dax continues its strong momentum, we are trading at 52 week highs and up now about 27% for the year. bond markets which is where we stand with yields, spanish ten year yields slightly lower, but we were 5.2% beginning of the week was the handle. currency markets, not huge changes. euro-dollar just below 1.31, dollar-yen 82.44. euro trading, though, at a fresh day high it must be said. we have comments coming out of china on the smartphone segment. apple's rang in china smartphone market which will become the world's biggest this year down to number six in the third quarter. facing tougher competition from chinese brands. this is the research firm idc coming out with this and that third quarter ranking is two spots below the position in the second quarter. this is all in terms of the chinese smar
adjusted global goods trade deficit 9.5 billion. september unrevised. forecast here forecast at 8.65, so that is a wide deficit than forecast. adjusted 4.5 billion. sterling not reacting huge amount. european stocks today are firmer. up 0.4% for the ftse. xetra dax continues its strong momentum, we are trading at 52 week highs and up now about 27% for the year. bond markets which is where we stand with yields, spanish ten year yields slightly lower, but we were 5.2% beginning of the week was...
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raised on those upper income americans, even though only 19% think it will have much of an impact on deficits. it's not about the fiscal crisis. it's about fairness in the minds of most americans. president obama understands that and republicans don't. >> is that because in your polling day, i always thought that people favored spending reduction and favored smaller government. this may be a mistake that the gop has not emphasized spending cuts. >> they certainly do. most people -- two out of three people want to see a deal that includes both tax hikes and spending cuts. they want to see more spending cuts, but they don't expect spending cuts to come out of this no matter what happens. in fact, the one thing that most people in the middle class believe is that regardless of whether we go over the fiscal cliff or whether a deal is reached to avert that, middle class taxes are going up, and so is spending. so there's a lot of cynicism in this process. >> real quick -- >> that's why the president has the edge. >> bottom line, the republicans are poised to take a fall? is that what your numbers s
raised on those upper income americans, even though only 19% think it will have much of an impact on deficits. it's not about the fiscal crisis. it's about fairness in the minds of most americans. president obama understands that and republicans don't. >> is that because in your polling day, i always thought that people favored spending reduction and favored smaller government. this may be a mistake that the gop has not emphasized spending cuts. >> they certainly do. most people --...
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of the negotiations with congressional republicans over the bush tax cuts and the stimulus and the deficit. this president seems to have a thick skin if letting bygones be bygones does not come naturally to him as a man, he is doing a convincing job as a president. getting the business community to be message multipliers and supporters of his on basic economic issues. it makes sense. what about accountability? and here's what i mean. the big business guys who really, really really wanted president mitt romney. they spent through the roof to
of the negotiations with congressional republicans over the bush tax cuts and the stimulus and the deficit. this president seems to have a thick skin if letting bygones be bygones does not come naturally to him as a man, he is doing a convincing job as a president. getting the business community to be message multipliers and supporters of his on basic economic issues. it makes sense. what about accountability? and here's what i mean. the big business guys who really, really really wanted...
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Dec 9, 2012
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but i think the over-hyping of deficits, the deficit mania that seized this town, is kind of crazy. i mean, i love alan simpson and erskine bowles, but they're talking about inflation at a moment when people are paying us money to invest in our treasury bonds. you know, the summer before last, when we had the debt ceiling negotiations, and everybody was saying oh, our credit is about to go down the tubes. the price of u.s. treasury bonds were going up. so the fact is that we have a problem. i'm hoping that we'll deal with it, especially, you know, the old age entitlementes, because sooner or later, you and i are going to be old enough to qualify for medicare, and we're going to at the present time to be a good system. but we i think a little rationality is called for. >> schieffer: you're saying it's not as bad as it seems. the fact of the matter swhen the bush tax cuts run out at the end of the year, when payroll tax-- whatever they call it, runs out at the end of the year, people's taxes are going to go up. they may not be a crisis for some of the upper income folk but if you're d
but i think the over-hyping of deficits, the deficit mania that seized this town, is kind of crazy. i mean, i love alan simpson and erskine bowles, but they're talking about inflation at a moment when people are paying us money to invest in our treasury bonds. you know, the summer before last, when we had the debt ceiling negotiations, and everybody was saying oh, our credit is about to go down the tubes. the price of u.s. treasury bonds were going up. so the fact is that we have a problem. i'm...
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the deficit's declined in the last three years and tax revenues are rising. spending has been flat for the last two and a half years so the pressure is moving in the right direction. the worry for me is if you raise taxes and cut spending now you're going to knock back growth and prevent that acceleration in revenue. you've got gdp growth up to 3 or 3.5, the revenue implications are enormous. because revenue tends to spike -- >> and nobody believes it. that's the problem. we're into this world where we may spend, and we may even have a pop from government spending. it's never sustained. and all it creates is this huge discussion which underminds business confidence of how we're going to pay for the debt. we have exposed, i think, the achilles heel of keynesian economics. >> i broadly agree with you. in 2008, 2009, i think the fiscal stimulus made a lot of sense. but i think that we're at a point now where the economy is strong enough that we need to get started on the fiscal adjustment. we've got to make sure it's not too many. i'd say something on the order
the deficit's declined in the last three years and tax revenues are rising. spending has been flat for the last two and a half years so the pressure is moving in the right direction. the worry for me is if you raise taxes and cut spending now you're going to knock back growth and prevent that acceleration in revenue. you've got gdp growth up to 3 or 3.5, the revenue implications are enormous. because revenue tends to spike -- >> and nobody believes it. that's the problem. we're into this...
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Dec 3, 2012
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based on the recommendations of the president's deficit reduction commission but the president could disagree. the republicans say the plan would raise $800 million through tax reform but not by phasing out the upper income bush tax cuts and before the plan was announced, white house press secretary insisted the rates will not make it to the new year. >> he will not sign a bill that extends those tax rates for the top 2 percent. we cannot afford it. it is not wise economic policy. not wise fiscal policy. it would defeat the principle of balance that he has embraced. >> the president wrapped up an hour long twitter session promoting what he called a balanced approach, as far as deficit reduction. >>shepard: is this posturing? >>reporter: well, it is, this great measure. each side wants to blame the other. and not just if we go over the cliff, but if they do reach an agreement, each side wants the other to take the blame for the parts of the ultimate compromise their constituents don't like. right now the negotiations are nowhere, and the white house has not put a serious offer on the
based on the recommendations of the president's deficit reduction commission but the president could disagree. the republicans say the plan would raise $800 million through tax reform but not by phasing out the upper income bush tax cuts and before the plan was announced, white house press secretary insisted the rates will not make it to the new year. >> he will not sign a bill that extends those tax rates for the top 2 percent. we cannot afford it. it is not wise economic policy. not...
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even if you do what he wants to do on tax rates, you only affect 7% of the deficit. what we have done is, we have spend ourselves into a hole and we're not going to raise taxes, borrow money and get out of it. will i accept a tax increase as a part of a deal to actually solve our problems? yes. but the president is negotiating with the wrong people. he needs to be negotiating with our bondholders in china. because if we don't put a creditable plan on this, on the discussion, ultimately, we all lose. >> well, you got your colleague debbie stabenow, on the your screen as well, can you just say quickly what it is going to take? i want to see if she can accept the kind of entitlement reforms that you're thinking. >> well, we got to quit playing the game, george, you can't continue to lie to the american people. there is no way to fix medicare under the guidelines of aarp with our tax dollars are now advertising to say not fix it. the way we can fix it is to control the cost. the way to control the cost is to have more individual participation. there's a lot of ways to do
even if you do what he wants to do on tax rates, you only affect 7% of the deficit. what we have done is, we have spend ourselves into a hole and we're not going to raise taxes, borrow money and get out of it. will i accept a tax increase as a part of a deal to actually solve our problems? yes. but the president is negotiating with the wrong people. he needs to be negotiating with our bondholders in china. because if we don't put a creditable plan on this, on the discussion, ultimately, we all...
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we need to save more in this country and w count country and we need to get a handle on this deficit problem. but ronald reagan didn't get us into any wars, we had a police action in grenada, in eight years, that was it, yeah, you got to be strong, you got to maintain a strong national defense, fight against budget cuts and so forth. but unless there's a very large national interest involved, it can -- it's sometimes very counter productive to engage in some of these activities overseas, where right now, for instance, there's a lot of pressure on president obama to intervene militarily in syria, that would be the worst thing in the world we could do in my opinion. we should support the syrian opposition, politically, diplomatically, economically, but not militarily, because t t that's a slippery slope once you get into it. >> not even a no fly zone? >> i don't know, if you start a no fly zone, you got to get into the anti-aircraft batteries. but the government is going to fall. so i think the policy that the administration's following on syria is absolutely the right policy to follow
we need to save more in this country and w count country and we need to get a handle on this deficit problem. but ronald reagan didn't get us into any wars, we had a police action in grenada, in eight years, that was it, yeah, you got to be strong, you got to maintain a strong national defense, fight against budget cuts and so forth. but unless there's a very large national interest involved, it can -- it's sometimes very counter productive to engage in some of these activities overseas, where...
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there is an interesting coalition, if you will, of very conservative deficit hawks and very liberal deficit hawks, if you will, who might come together and say, you know what, let the country go off the cliff. lack at those five-year projections. isn't this about short term versus long term? what do you say and what do you think your members would say? >> the best thing is to do something our spending problem and barring anything else, doing the automatic cuts that congress promised last year when they raised the debt ceiling would be better than doing nothing. it's separate from the ougautomc tax increase that happens on january 1. our preferred strategy here would be to accept the sequester now knowing that congress is not going to do something more rational. they're not going to take on more fundamental spending reforms and push off increasing taxes. and let's have a ration conversation about fundamental tax reform in the first six months of next year. nothing congress does in this panic is going to be rational public policy regardless of ideology. >> isn't it fair to say no matter what,
there is an interesting coalition, if you will, of very conservative deficit hawks and very liberal deficit hawks, if you will, who might come together and say, you know what, let the country go off the cliff. lack at those five-year projections. isn't this about short term versus long term? what do you say and what do you think your members would say? >> the best thing is to do something our spending problem and barring anything else, doing the automatic cuts that congress promised last...
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the so-called fiscal cliff for a year but has yet to come up with a plan that actually reduces our deficit. i'm willing to work with anyone to put a plan on the table, but we're not willing to negotiate with someone who hasn't put a plan on the table. the president has not put a serious plan on the table. >> as far as a compromise on the marginal tax rate 35% going up let's say 36% or 37%, is that acceptable? >> no. no. because marginal tax rate increases if there is any increase in revenue, just gives them more to play with on capitol hill and more to spend. when we talk about fairness, when the top 2%, the $250,000 and above are already paying 45% of total income tax, that's a big question of fairness there too. >> who should nicki haley name to replace you? >> i talk today her today. i share the same philosophy, the conservative philosophy. i told her i trust her decision and i'm not going to push her one way or another. >> a lot of speculation, congressman scott? >> he's a wonderful person. our whole delegation is really strong. she's got a tough choice, but i'm convinced she'll give m
the so-called fiscal cliff for a year but has yet to come up with a plan that actually reduces our deficit. i'm willing to work with anyone to put a plan on the table, but we're not willing to negotiate with someone who hasn't put a plan on the table. the president has not put a serious plan on the table. >> as far as a compromise on the marginal tax rate 35% going up let's say 36% or 37%, is that acceptable? >> no. no. because marginal tax rate increases if there is any increase in...
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we were very concerned because we thought the budget was going to be -- the deficit was going to be about $150 billion. that shocked everyone into action. then, unlike now, there remains some degree of bipartisanship. there was comity, there was discussion, even as we battled over the budget, we worked together in a bipartisan way on many other issues. you didn't have the total polarization that you have today. >> i mean, when you were elected senate majority leader, i understand one of the first people that you called was the minority leader, senator dole. >> that's right. i called him right away, i went to see him almost immediately, and i said to him look, you've been here a long time, i'm relatively new, these are very tough jobs in the best of circumstances, and if we don't have some degree of trust between us, they will be impossible jobs. so i said to him i want to tell you how i intend to behave toward you and to ask that you behave towards me in the same way. and we agreed on the most basic of things. i told him i would not surprise him, that's important in the senate. that he wo
we were very concerned because we thought the budget was going to be -- the deficit was going to be about $150 billion. that shocked everyone into action. then, unlike now, there remains some degree of bipartisanship. there was comity, there was discussion, even as we battled over the budget, we worked together in a bipartisan way on many other issues. you didn't have the total polarization that you have today. >> i mean, when you were elected senate majority leader, i understand one of...
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but anyway, the deficit is clearly not going to achieve getting rid of that in a five-year period. many estimates believe that in 2013-2014, the next fiscal year, it's going to be around 7%. that's better than the 11% inherited by this government, but will be a couple points worse than greece and spain. so that's a big negative for george osbourne. another one will be getting the percentage of debt compared with gdp in the country, getting that down within a five-year period, getting it syncing in the right direction. he thought it was going to peek around 75%, 75%. it looks like it could go up even further. so let's see what he says on that front today. in terms of options, he has very few options indeed because this is a government which as we know has set its fallout on plan a. and yet, are we seeing real austerity? i'm not entirely sure. government borrowing this fiscal year so far in the five months that we have figures for already is 26.7% higher than the same period a year ago. the idea originally this year was for flat spending and then getting it down there after. and he's
but anyway, the deficit is clearly not going to achieve getting rid of that in a five-year period. many estimates believe that in 2013-2014, the next fiscal year, it's going to be around 7%. that's better than the 11% inherited by this government, but will be a couple points worse than greece and spain. so that's a big negative for george osbourne. another one will be getting the percentage of debt compared with gdp in the country, getting that down within a five-year period, getting it syncing...
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social security didn't contribute to the deficits and debt. i don't think there will be any appetite whatsoever for touching social security. but those points i think democrats are quite unified on. the area where i think there is room for negotiation and compromise is, the rates are going to go up. i think we all recognize that. will the rates go up completely? are there other ways where they can come up somewhat short of that but make up the revenues by reducing deductions from higher income families? >> so the deal that we're talking about is halfway between the current rate and the former rate? >> well, i wouldn't say halfway. but i would say, as long as you can get to the revenues, if you can increase the rates and reduce the deductions for upper income households, you can get to the same dollar number and i think there's a willingness to entertain that. it does tend to complicate the tax code. the simplest way is simply to raise the tax rates up to the clinton levels and, you know, we do have a strong interest in simplifying the tax code
social security didn't contribute to the deficits and debt. i don't think there will be any appetite whatsoever for touching social security. but those points i think democrats are quite unified on. the area where i think there is room for negotiation and compromise is, the rates are going to go up. i think we all recognize that. will the rates go up completely? are there other ways where they can come up somewhat short of that but make up the revenues by reducing deductions from higher income...
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the problem is the deficit. i know i've gotten a lot of hate mail from both the right and the left -- >> no, you're being honest. >> the fact of the matter is, we have to balance the budget. we've been in an economic recovery for three years. we're not where we ought to be. the longer you put this big deficit on, the harder it's going to be later on. >> katie, i'm sorry but lost you for a minute. i'm worried, katie, because the gop is in an unenviable political position after the election, because they're not talking about enough spending and entitlement cuts, what you hear is defending tax cuts for the rich. in other words, the gop is becoming the party of rich people and that's not where they ought to be. >> the problem is marketing. and republicans have had a big problem with marketing since the ronald reagan days. they need to get on the ground and talk about how these tax cuts affecting the rich will affect the middle class. democrats have been getting away with saying that the rich are the ones who need to
the problem is the deficit. i know i've gotten a lot of hate mail from both the right and the left -- >> no, you're being honest. >> the fact of the matter is, we have to balance the budget. we've been in an economic recovery for three years. we're not where we ought to be. the longer you put this big deficit on, the harder it's going to be later on. >> katie, i'm sorry but lost you for a minute. i'm worried, katie, because the gop is in an unenviable political position after...
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social security has not distributed to the deficit. it's just irresponsible to even put social security in a discussion as we are trying to get a deal. medicare can, i think, be massaged in terms of means testing. with the upper income individuals paying more or sometimes all of their medical expenses, it makes no sense for the government to pay medicare costs for someone earning $700,000 a year. so i think we can do some means testing. but by no means am i saying it should be low enough so our elderly and poorist americans are going to pay for the deficit. but we want a deal. and keep in mind, i think this is very important. if the bush tax cuts are expired, as they will be, just as sure as today is friday, they are gone, that generates $950 billion toward the deficit over a ten-year period. we'd set aside $1.2 trillion. we're almost there. and if you do means testing on medicare, we make it. >> well, the republicans would never go along with that kind of means testing because that would hit the wealthier americans. that's who they ar
social security has not distributed to the deficit. it's just irresponsible to even put social security in a discussion as we are trying to get a deal. medicare can, i think, be massaged in terms of means testing. with the upper income individuals paying more or sometimes all of their medical expenses, it makes no sense for the government to pay medicare costs for someone earning $700,000 a year. so i think we can do some means testing. but by no means am i saying it should be low enough so our...